Microsoft to purchase stake in RIM?

There is a new rumor going around that struggling smartphone manufacturer Research In Motion (RIM), who churns out the once hugely popular (still is in the White House) BlackBerry smartphone, might just sell a huge stake to software giant Microsoft. Bear in mind that you would want to take this bit of information with a large grain of salt, although there is no way to completely rule it out altogether. RIM did mention that they are exploring “strategic alternatives” in order to consolidate their business, and a tie up with Microsoft might not seem to far fetched.

It is speculated that such an investment might eventually end up in the neighborhood of $3.5 billion thereabouts, and both parties, Microsoft and RIM, did not comment on the rumor. Could Microsoft be looking for another way to add more weapons to their patent arsenal?